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MKSNAP_FFS(8) FreeBSD System Manager's Manual MKSNAP_FFS(8)
NAME
mksnap_ffs - take a file system snapshot
SYNOPSIS
mksnap_ffs snapshot_name
DESCRIPTION
The mksnap_ffs utility creates a snapshot named snapshot_name. This name
is a path in the file system to be snapshotted. Typically this is under
the .snap directory in the root of the file system, but it can be
anywhere in the filesystem being snapshotted. Snapshots can be listed
using the snapinfo(8) command.
After a snapshot is taken it appears as a file. The size of the snapshot
file is equal to the size of the file system from which it was taken. It
can be moved, renamed or deleted (which removes the snapshot).
The group ownership of the file is set to "operator"; the owner of the
file remains "root". The mode of the snapshot is set to be readable by
the owner or members of the "operator" group.
EXAMPLES
Create a snapshot of /home file system and mount the snapshot elsewhere:
mksnap_ffs /home/.snap/snap1
mdconfig -a -t vnode -o readonly -f /home/.snap/snap1
mount -o ro /dev/md0 /mnt/
Delete a snapshot:
rm /home/.snap/snap1
SEE ALSO
rm(1), chmod(2), chown(8), mdconfig(8), mount(8), snapinfo(8)
HISTORY
The mksnap_ffs utility first appeared in FreeBSD 5.1.
CAVEATS
The disk full situation is not handled gracefully and may lead to a
system panic when no free blocks are found.
Every filesystem can have only up to 20 active snapshots. When this
limit is reached, attempting to create more snapshots fails with ENOSPC,
and mksnap_ffs reports that it is "out of space".
FreeBSD 14.2-RELEASE May 22, 2023 FreeBSD 14.2-RELEASE